Previews

MX vs. ATV Untamed

Spiffy:

Iffy:

Might lack instant appeal of other racing genres.

Late last week, THQ and Rainbow Studios swung by the GameSpy office to show off the first next-generation entry in its well-received MX vs. ATV franchise. THQ is bringing MX vs. ATV Untamed to practically every single platform in existence, but developer and creator Rainbow Studios is hard at work specifically on the PS3 and 360 versions of the game.

We got to briefly check out the latest code for the 360 version of MX vs ATV Untamed and we came away from the demo suitably impressed. Rainbow has always prided itself on its ability to craft a rock-solid and highly realistic physics engine for its racing titles, and MX vs. ATV Untamed is no exception. It was made blatantly clear from the off that MX vs. ATV Untamed features an all-new physics engine along with new AI routines, and a brand-new graphics engine to boot. All these factors made for a pretty exciting and impressive demonstration.

MX vs. ATV Untamed is set to feature around 10 massive outdoor environments which should lend themselves to the off-road nature of the series. We checked out a few, with the harbor level being the most impressive. There are indoor tracks too, but the sheer size and "go anywhere" nature of the outdoor environments really hammered home what the 360 and PS3 hardware will be capable of adding to the series.

There's a bunch of different online and offline modes, but perhaps the most exciting and encouraging news was the inclusion of 12-player online action. The token two-player split-screen feature rapidly falls off the radar when the true potential of 11 other races vying for the lead becomes apparent. This is a great hook, and one that should really attract the more competitive racers out there.

The offline modes are many. First there's the X-Cross; eight individual series are crossbred into one massive off-road championship event. Then there's a regular championship, an "Own the Road" outdoor free-for-all, MX vs. ATV Rivalry, Opencross, the all-new Endurocross and more besides. The wealth of modes is a little intimidating, but there's little doubt that THQ's MX vs. ATV Untamed offers a large and varied amount of game styles.

While the demo was hands-off, we saw more than enough of the game in motion to get a feeling of how the many different riders and vehicles performed. A cool online feature turned out to be the matchmaking lobby. The lobby is actually a real-time indoor space where would-be friends or rivals can freestyle and talk smack. Once everyone's ready, the games can begin, but this level of interaction in a simple player-matching area was a real nice touch.